Venereal Diseases in New Zealand (1922) eBook

Wellington Clinic: 40 per cent. of all cases
continued treatment till non-infective, and very few
of these were women.

Christchurch Clinic: Men with syphilis, 75 per
cent.: men with gonorrhoea, 98 per cent.:
women with syphilis, 50 per cent.: women with
gonorrhoea, 14 per cent.

Dunedin Clinic: In this clinic only thirty-one
males suffering from gonorrhoea were discharged cured:
thirty-two absented themselves while still infective;
three female cases remained under treatment till cured,
and six ceased to attend while still infective.
Forty male syphilitics remained till non-infective,
and seventy-four ceased treatment before it was completed.
For female syphilitics the figures are four and eighteen.

It will be noted that in each case the proportion
of women who attend till non-infective is much smaller
than of men, especially in cases of gonorrhoea.
The reasons for this are probably that owing to anatomical
considerations women infected with venereal disease
suffer less pain and the disease is less obvious than
in men. On cessation of the more urgent and obvious
signs and symptoms they stop treatment. Again,
it is probable that the publicity of attending the
clinics is felt more by women than men. A third
reason is the prolonged period of treatment (often
extending over many months) necessary to eradicate
gonorrhoea in women. These difficulties could
to some extent be mitigated by the provision of arrangements
for women to carry out treatment in their homes, which
would avoid the publicity and loss of time entailed
in attending clinics.

The Committee were impressed with the value of the
work done by the lady patrol in Christchurch, and
considers that lady patrols would help greatly in
securing the attendance of women at the clinics.
It is recommended that these patrols should be attached
to the Hospital Boards and that they should be trained
nurses. They would be available to give advice
to patients as to treatment in their homes.

The Committee would also draw attention to the very
valuable work done by the Social Hygiene Society in
Christchurch, and recommended the establishment of
similar voluntary societies in other centres.

The Committee recommend that all bacteriological and
other examinations required for the diagnosis and
treatment of cases of venereal diseases should be
carried out in laboratories of the Department of Health
and public hospitals free of cost, on the recommendation
of medical practitioners.

The Committee made inquiries from competent witnesses
as to the present position of the complement fixation
test in gonorrhoea. It appears that this test
has not reached yet such a degree of reliability as
to render it of great diagnostic value, but that it
is reasonable to hope that it may be perfected to
such an extent to give it a value in the diagnosis
of gonorrhoea comparable to that of the Wassermann
test in syphilis.